| Notes |
- The third of King Henry II's legitimate sons, Richard was never
expected to ascend to the throne. He was, however, the favourite son
of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was a younger maternal
half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. He was a
younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers, Henry the Young King
and Matilda of England. He was also an older brother of Geoffrey II,
Duke of Brittany, Leonora of Aquitaine , Joan Plantagenet and John of
England.
Although born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England, he soon came to
know France as his home. When his parents effectively separated, he
remained in Eleanor's care, and was invested with her duchy of
Aquitaine in 1168, and of Poitiers in 1172. This was his consolation
prize for the fact that his eldest surviving brother, Henry the Young
King, was simultaneously crowned as his father's successor. Richard
and his other brother, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, thus learned how to
defend their property while still teenagers. As well as being an
educated man, able to compose poetry in French and Provençal, Richard
was also a magnificent physical specimen; blond, blue-eyed, his height
is estimated at six feet four inches (1.93 m) tall. He gloried in
military activity. From an early age he appeared to have significant
political and military abilities, became noted for his chivalry and
courage, and soon was able to control the unruly nobles of his
territory. As with all the true-born sons of Henry II, Richard had
limited respect for his father and lacked foresight and a sense of
responsibility.
In 1170, his elder brother Henry the Young King was crowned king of
England as Henry III. Historians know him as Henry "the Young King" so
as not to confuse him with the later king of this name who was his
nephew.
In 1173, Richard joined his brothers, Henry and Geoffrey, Duke of
Brittany, in a revolt against their father. They were planning to
dethrone their father and leave the Young King as the only king of
England. Henry II invaded Aquitaine twice. At the age of seventeen,
Richard was the last of the brothers to hold out against Henry;
though, in the end, he refused to fight him face to face and humbly
begged his pardon. In 1174, after the end of the failed revolt,
Richard gave a new oath of subservience to his father.
Richard had several major reasons for discontent with his father.
First was Henry's refusal to allow Richard any real power or funds
despite pleas by Richard for more of both. Though placated by
glittering titles such as Count of Poitou, Richard wanted more and
Henry seemed unwilling to entrust any of his sons with resources that
could be used against him, with very good reason. Second, and more
personal, was that Henry had appropriated Princess Alys (not the same
Alix as Richard's half-sister), the daughter of the French king and
Richard's betrothed, as his mistress. This made a marriage between
Richard and Alys technically impossible - at least in the eyes of the
church, but Henry, not wishing to cause a diplomatic incident,
prevaricated and did not confess to his misdeed. As for Richard, he
was discouraged from renouncing Alys because she was Philip's sister.
After his failure to overthrow his father, Richard concentrated on
putting down internal revolts by the dissatisfied nobles of Aquitaine,
especially the territory of Gascony. The increasing cruelty of his
reign led to a major revolt of Gascony in 1183. Richard had a terrible
reputation, including reports of various rapes and murders. The rebels
hoped to dethrone Richard and asked his brothers Henry and Geoffrey to
help them succeed. Their father feared that the war between his three
sons could lead to the destruction of his kingdom. He led the part of
his army that served in his French territories in support of Richard.
The Young King's death on June 11, 1183, ended the revolt, and Richard
remained on his throne.
Young Henry's death left Richard as the eldest surviving son and
the natural heir when the old King eventually died. However, there was
some uncertainty over King Henry's intentions. When Geoffrey also
died, Richard was the only realistic possibility, his youngest
brother, John, being too weak and inexperienced to be considered as an
alternative. From the Young King's death Richard was considered --
though not officially proclaimed -- heir to the joint thrones of
England, Normandy and Anjou. In 1188 Henry II planned to concede
Aquitaine to his youngest son John Lackland, later King John of
England. In opposition to his father's plans, Richard allied himself
with King Philip II of France, the son of Eleanor's ex-husband Louis
VII by his third wife, Adele of Champagne. In exchange for Philip's
help against his father, Richard promised to concede his rights to
both Normandy and Anjou to Philip. Richard gave an oath of
subservience to Philip in November of the same year. In 1189 Richard
attempted to take the throne of England for himself by joining
Philip's expedition against his father. They were victorious. Henry,
with John's consent, agreed to name Richard his heir. On July 6, 1189
Henry II died in Chinon, and Richard I succeeded him as King of
England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou. He was officially
crowned duke on July 20 and king in Westminster on September 3, 1189.
Richard had forbidden any Jews to make an appearance at his
coronation, but some Jewish leaders showed up anyway to present gifts
for the new king. According to Ralph of Diceto, Richard's courtiers
stripped and flogged the Jews, then flung them out of court. The
people of London joined in to persecute the Jews, and a massacre
began. Many Jews were beaten to death, robbed, and burnt alive. At
least one was forcibly baptised. Some sought sanctuary in the Tower of
London, and others managed to escape half-dead.
Richard has been criticised for doing little for England, siphoning
the kingdom's resources by appointing Jewish moneylenders to support
his journeys away on Crusade in the Holy Land. Indeed, he spent only
six months of his ten year reign in England, claiming it was "cold and
always raining." During the period when he was raising funds for his
Crusade, Richard was heard to declare, "If I could have found a buyer
I would have sold London itself."
Effigy on tomb in Fontevrault AbbeyLeaving the country in the hands
of various officials he designated (including his mother, at times),
Richard spent only a small fraction of his reign in England, being far
more concerned with his possessions in what is now France and his
battles in Palestine. He had grown up on the Continent, and had never
seen any need to learn the English language. Soon after his accession
to the throne, he decided to join the Third Crusade, inspired by the
loss of Jerusalem to the Muslims under the command of Saladin. Afraid
that, during his absence, the French might usurp his territories,
Richard tried to persuade Philip to join the Crusade as well. Philip
agreed and both gave their crusader oaths on the same date.
Richard did not concern himself with the future of England. He
wanted to engage in an adventure that would cause the troubadours to
immortalise his name, as well as guaranteeing him a place in heaven.
The evidence suggests that he had deep spiritual needs, and he swore
an oath to renounce his past wickedness in order to show himself
worthy to take the cross. He started to raise a new English crusader
army, though most of his warriors were Normans, and supplied it with
weapons. He spent most of his father's treasury (filled with money
raised by the Saladin tithe), raised taxes, and even agreed to free
King William I of Scotland from his oath of subservience to Richard in
exchange for 10,000 marks. To raise even more money he sold official
positions, rights, and lands to those interested in them. He finally
succeeded in raising a huge army and navy. After repositioning the
part of his army he left behind so that it would guard his French
possessions, Richard finally started his expedition to the Holy Land
in 1190. Richard appointed as regents Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and
William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex, who soon died and was
replaced by Richard's chancellor William Longchamp. Richard's brother
John was not satisfied by this decision and started scheming against
William.
In September 1190 both Richard and Philip arrived in Sicily. In
1189 King William II of Sicily had died. His heir was his aunt
Constance, later Queen Constance of Sicily, who was married to Emperor
Henry VI. But immediately after William's death, William's cousin,
Tancred, rebelled, seized control of the island and was crowned early
in 1190 as King Tancred I of Sicily. He was favored by the people and
Pope Clement III but had problems with the island's nobles. Richard's
arrival caused even more problems. Tancred had imprisoned William's
widow, Queen Joan, who was Richard's sister, and did not give her the
money she had inherited according to William's will. Richard demanded
that his sister be released and given her inheritance. Meanwhile the
presence of two foreign armies caused unrest among the people. In
October, the people of Messina revolted, demanding that the foreigners
leave the island. Richard attacked Messina and captured it on October
4, 1190. After looting and burning the city Richard established his
base in it. He remained there until March 1191 when Tancred finally
agreed to sign a treaty. The treaty was signed during the same month
by Richard, Philip and Tancred. According to the treaty's main terms:
Joan was to be released, receiving her inheritance along with the
dowry her father had given to the deceased William.
Richard and Philip recognized Tancred as legal King of Sicily and
vowed to keep the peace between all three of their kingdoms.
Richard officially proclaimed his nephew, the son of Geoffrey,
Arthur of Brittany, as his heir, and Tancred promised to later marry
one of his daughters to Arthur when he came of age (Arthur was only
four years old at the time).
After signing the treaty Richard and Philip left Sicily. The treaty
undermined England's relationships with the Holy Roman Empire and
caused the revolt of Richard's brother John, who hoped to be
proclaimed heir instead of their nephew. Although his revolt failed,
John continued to scheme against his brother after this point.
Richard on the Third Crusade:
In April 1191, Richard stopped on the Byzantine island of Rhodes to
avoid the stormy weather. It seems that Richard had previously met his
fiancée Berengaria only once, years before their marriage. He had
assigned his mother to represent him and convince her father, Sancho
VI of Navarre, and her other relatives to agree to the marriage, and
to bring the bride to the wedding. Richard came to their rescue when
they were shipwrecked on the coast of Cyprus. He left Rhodes in May
but a new storm drove Richard's fleet to the island. On May 6, 1191,
Richard's fleet arrived in the port of Lemesos (now Limassol). Richard
captured the city. When the island's despot Isaac Dukas Comnenus
arrived to stop the Crusaders he discovered he was too late, and
retired to Kolossi. Richard called Isaac to negotiations but Isaac
broke his oath of hospitality and started demanding Richard's
departure. Richard ordered his cavalry to follow him in a battle
against Isaac's army in Tremetusia. The few Roman Catholics of the
island joined Richard's army and so did the island's nobles who were
dissatisfied with Isaac's seven years of tyrannical rule. Though Isaac
and his men fought bravely, Richard's army was bigger and better
equipped, assuring his victory. Isaac continued to resist from the
castles of Pentadactylos but after the siege of his castle of Kantara
he finally surrendered. Richard became the new ruler of Cyprus.
Arms of Richard IRichard looted the island and massacred those
trying to resist him. Meanwhile, Richard was finally able to marry
Berengaria, first-born daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre. The
marriage was held in Limassol on May 12, 1191 at the Chapel of St.
George. It was attended by his sister Joan, whom Richard had brought
from Sicily. There were no children from the marriage; opinions vary
as to whether it was ever a love match. The unfortunate Berengaria had
almost as much difficulty in making the journey home as her husband
did, and did not see England until after his death.
From Cyprus onwards, Richard had among his friends and allies a
Franco-Syrian noble, Humphrey IV of Toron, the former husband of
Richard's father's first cousin Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem. The
young Humphrey was the dispossessed Lord of Toron, Oultrejordain, etc.
He knew the Muslim culture and spoke Arabic, whereby Richard used him
as his translator and negotiator. As contemporary sources alleged,
Humphrey was not suited to married life and was known as soft and
effeminate. (He did not want to oppose the other lords, and therefore
had consented to the forced divorce from Richard's cousin.) As
contemporary sources say, Richard had a deep affection for Humphrey.
Humphrey died sometime in the mid-1190s.
Whether Richard's marriage with Berengaria was ever even
consummated is a matter for conjecture. (Though it should be noted
that when Richard married Berengaria he was still officially betrothed
to Alys and that Richard pushed for the match, in order to obtain
Navarre as a fief like Aquitaine for his father.) Richard had a
terrible womanising reputation, but he took his new wife with him
briefly on this episode of the crusade. However, they returned
separately. Although, after his release from German captivity, Richard
showed some degree of regret for his earlier conduct, he was not
joined by his wife. The fact that the marriage was childless is
inconclusive, but it is certainly true that Richard had to be ordered
by a priest to reunite with and to show fidelity to Berengaria in the
future, with the language he used being the main source cited for a
20th century theory that Richard had been engaged in homosexual
activities. Nevertheless, when he died in 1199, she was greatly
distressed, apparently having loved her husband very much.
Richard and most of his army left Cyprus for the Holy Land early in
June. In his absence Cyprus would be governed by Richard Camville.
King Richard arrived at Acre in June 1191, in time to relieve the
siege of the city by Saladin. Deserted by Philip and having fallen out
with Duke Leopold V of Austria, he suddenly found himself without
allies.
Richard's tactics ensured success at the siege of Acre and on the
subsequent march south, Saladin's men being unable to harass the
Crusader army into an impulsive action which might not have gone their
way. However, the desertion of the French king had been a major blow,
from which they could not hope to recover. Realising that he had no
hope of holding Jerusalem even if he took it, Richard sadly ordered a
retreat. Despite being only a few miles from the city, he refused,
thereafter, to set eyes on it, since God had ordained that he should
not be the one to conquer it. He had finally realised that his return
home could be postponed no longer, since both Philip and John were
taking advantage of his absence to make themselves more powerful.
Having planned to leave Conrad of Montferrat as "King" of Jerusalem
and Cyprus in the hands of his own protégé, Guy of Lusignan, Richard
was dealt another blow when Conrad was assassinated before he could be
crowned. His replacement was Richard's own nephew, Henry I of
Champagne.
Bad luck dogged Richard on his return home. Bad weather forced his
ship to put in at Corfu, the territory of the Byzantine Emperor Isaac
Angelus, who was still angry at Richard for his annexation of Cyprus.
Disguised as a Knight Templar, Richard sailed from Corfu with four
attendants in a pirate ship, which wrecked near Aquileia, forcing
Richard and his party into a dangerous land route through central
Europe. On his way to the territory of Henry of Saxony, his
brother-in-law, Richard was captured shortly before Christmas 1192
only a few miles from the Moravian border, near Vienna, by Leopold V
of Austria, who accused Richard of ordering the death of Conrad.
Richard and his retainers had been traveling disguised as pilgrims,
complete with flowing beards and tattered clothes. Richard himself was
dressed like a kitchen hand, but was identified because he was wearing
a magnificent and costly ring no menial worker could afford. (Another
tale claimed he was identified by his insistence on eating roast
chicken, a great delicacy reserved for nobility.) The Duke handed him
over as a prisoner to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor after being held
captive at Dürnstein. Although the circumstances of his captivity were
not severe, he was frustrated by his inability to travel freely.
Richard once proudly declared, "I am born of a rank which recognizes
no superior but God" to the emperor. His mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine,
worked tirelessly to raise the exorbitant ransom of 150,000 marks
demanded by the German emperor, which was twice the annual income for
the English Crown. Both clergy and laymen were taxed for a quarter of
the value of their property, the gold and silver treasures of the
churches were confiscated, and money was raised from the scutage and
the carucage taxes. The emperor demanded that 100,000 marks be
delivered to him before he would release the king, the same amount
that had been raised by the Saladin tithe only a few years earlier. At
the same time, John, Richard's brother, and King Philip offered 80,000
marks for the Emperor to hold Richard prisoner until Michaelmas 1194.
The emperor turned down the offer. The money to rescue the King was
transferred to Germany by the emperor's ambassadors, but "at the
king's peril" (had it been lost along the way, Richard would have been
held responsible), and finally, on February 4, 1194 Richard was
released. King Philip of France sent a message to John: "Look to
yourself; the devil is loose."
Tomb at FontevraudDuring his absence, John had come close to
seizing the throne; Richard forgave him, and even named him as his
heir in place of Arthur, who was growing into an unpleasant youth.
Instead of turning against John, Richard came into conflict with his
former ally and friend, King Philip. When Philip attacked Richard's
fortress, Chateau-Gaillard, he boasted that "if its walls were iron,
yet would I take it", to which Richard replied, "If these walls were
butter, yet would I hold them!"
Tomb at Rouen CathedralAfter his many famous battles, it was a
minor skirmish with the rebellious castle of Châlus-Charbrol in
Limousin, France, on 26 March 1199 that would take Richard's life.
Richard had laid siege to the castle in pursuit of a claim to
treasure-trove. Pierre Basile was one of only two knights defending
Châlus. Richard, who had removed some of his chainmail, was wounded in
the shoulder by a crossbow bolt launched from a tower by Basile.
Gangrene set in and Richard asked to see his killer. He ordered that
Basile be set free and awarded a sum of money. However as soon as
Richard died, with his 77-year-old mother Eleanor at his side, on 6
April 1199, Mercadier had Basile flayed alive and then hanged.
Richard's existence had been a series of contradictions. Although
he had neglected his wife, Berengaria, and had to be commanded by
priests to be faithful to her, she was distraught at the news of his
death. No heir was born of their marriage.
Richard's bowels were buried at the foot of the tower from which the
shot was loosed, his heart was buried at Rouen, while the rest of his
remains were buried next to his father at Fontevraud Abbey near Chinon
and Saumur, France.
As Richard produced no heirs, he was succeeded by his brother John
as king of England. However, his French territories initially rejected
John as a successor, preferring his nephew Arthur of Brittany, the son
of their late brother Geoffrey, whose claim was technically better
than John's. Significantly, the lack of any direct heirs from Richard
was the first step in the disolution of the Angevin Empire. While
England continued to press claims to properties on the continent, it
would never again command the territories Richard I inherited. In the
long term Richard's legacy has to be viewed through the lens of his
personality and personal accomplishments.
There is no doubt that Richard had many admirable qualities, as
well as many bad ones. The most succinct summation of his character is
from Winston Churchill:
"Although a man of blood and violence, Richard was too impetuous to
be either treacherous or habitually cruel. He was as ready to forgive
as he was hasty to offend; he was open-handed and munificent to
profusion; in war circumspect in design and skillful in execution; in
politics a child, lacking in subtlety and experience. His political
alliances were formed upon his likes and dislikes; his political
schemes had neither unity nor clearness of purpose. The advantages
gained for him by military genius were flung away through diplomatic
ineptitude."
Richard was a pure military man and while politically astute in
some ways, he was incredibly foolish in others. He combined moments of
great largesse and humility with great arrogance and ruthlessness. He
was revered by his most worthy rival, Saladin, and respected by the
Emperor Henry, but hated by many who had been his friends, especially
King Philip. He was often careless of his own safety: the wound which
killed him need not have been inflicted at all if he had been properly
armoured. Almost the same thing had happened, ten years earlier when,
while feuding with his father, he had encountered William Marshal
while unarmed and had to beg for his life. These contradictions of his
character fascinated his contemporaries, many of whom held him up as
an exemplar of chivalry.
In the long run Richard's legacy comprised several parts. First, he
captured Cyprus, which proved immensely valuable in keeping the
Frankish kingdoms in the Holy Land viable for another century.
Secondly, his absence from the English political landscape meant that
the highly efficient government created by his father was allowed to
entrench itself, though King John would later abuse it to the breaking
point. As Sir Winston Churchill pointed out, this was the embryo
beginning of the English Civil Service and "proved that the King, to
whom all allegiance had been rendered, was no longer the sole
guarantee for law and order." The last part of Richard's legacy was
romantic and literary. No matter the facts of his reign, he left an
indelible imprint on the imagination extending to the present, in
large part because of his military exploits. This is reflected in
Steven Runciman's final verdict of Richard I: "he was a bad son, a bad
husband and a bad king, but a gallant and splendid soldier."
|
